3-Man Mechanics Notes
I. General Notes
A. Pre-game discussion w/ Coaches – “A” man in front of left handed batter’s box and “D” man in front of right handed batter’s box. All stand together behind home plate with hats on chest for “Star Spangled Banner.” Sprint down your line and around the infield to your between innings spot in the outfield.
B. Guys in “A” and “D” make sure all safety issues are maintained throughout the game. Keep equipment and extraneous players in the dugouts and make sure no one is in the windows of the dugouts.
C. Guys in “A” and “D” only make the fair/foul call if the ball passes your bag.
D. Overthrows at 1st base belong to you as long as you are in “A” position. If in “B”, plate man has the primary responsibility.
E. Check swings: Right-handed batters – man in “A” or “B”. Left handed batters – man in “C” or “D”.
F. We will always have a man in “A” if there is no one on, 1st base is occupied, or there are two outs.
G. If after a play you now need to move out of the “B” or “C” position, don’t leave until you see that your partner is moving in to replace you.
H. If I see that we are not positioned as we should be, I will call time and brush off the plate. Any time I do that, you should make sure you are in the right spot.
II. A & D Positions
A. Fly ball to the outfield
– Change since last year: Man in “D” has fly balls all the way around to right-center field.
– Man in “A” must watch what the man in “D” is doing as he moves inside the diamond to watch the batter-runner hit 1st base. If the “D” man goes out, the “A” man must take the b/r all the way to 3rd base.
– If man in “A” goes out on fly ball down his line, the plate man must move up to watch the runner tag 1st base.
– Man in “A” has all tag appeals on runner at 1st unless he has to go out on a fly down his line. In this case the plate man has that tag appeal.
III. A & C Positions
A. Fly Balls
– Man in “C” has the V and all tag appeals at 2nd & 3rd.
– Man in “A” has tag appeals by runner at 1st base unless he has to go out on ball down his line. In this case the plate man will have that tag.
B. Runner on 1st base, issue for man in “A”
– Do not need to hug the line. Take position that allows you to see the pitcher, rule on a balk, pickoff, or fair/foul call. This will put you closer to 1st base than when there is no runner at 1st.
– From this forward position, if there is a ground ball, you will likely need to move away from first base a few steps as you also move inside the foul line to get your 90 degree look.
C. Rotation with runner on 1st base and batter gets a base hit:
– Plate man moves up to 3rd base just like in 2-man system
– Man in “C” stays put but watches to see if batter-runner comes to 2nd base
– Man in “A” moves toward home in foul territory about 10 – 15 feet in front of first base to watch batter-runner touch 1st base. If B/R commits to 2nd base, then man in “A” hustles home to make a call there. He must let the plate man know that he has the plate.
D. Force play slide rule calls:
– On the conventional play that goes to 2nd base and then to 1st, this call belongs to the man in “C”.
– If they go to 3rd base and then to 1st base, it is still the man in the “C” position’s call.
– If they go to 3rd and then to 2nd, the plate man will have the force play slide rule call.
IV. B & D Positions – Only occurs when there is no runner at 1st base and there are less than 2 outs:
A. Fly balls to the outfield:
– Man in “B” has the V.
– Man in “D” has left fielder if moving toward the line. In this case the plate man will move up to 3rd base to be ready for the runner advancing from 2nd.
– Man in “B” has all tag appeals at 2nd and man in “D” has all tag appeals at 3rd unless he goes out on a fly ball. In this case the plate umpire will make that call on an appeal.